Orestiada Evros

Orestiada is located in the northern part of Evros and is 977 km from Athens, 464 km from Thessaloniki and 115 km from Alexandroupolis. It has 14783 inhabitants, 41 villages and 25 communities. The entire city was built after 1923 in order to house Greek refugees from Adrianople, and in particular the suburb Karagats or Orestiada of the west bank of Evros river, which came to Turkey by the Treaty of Lausanne. For this reason it was originally named New Karagats or New Orestiada. It is a characteristic example of refugee settlement with a simple urban design and large vertical streets and squares. In 1923, the town became the seat of the homonymous province, in which incorporated villages which until then belonged administratively to Adrianople. In 1946, the community of Orestiada became a municipality and its population is growing until today.

Evros River is the eastern boundary between Greece and Turkey. It comes from the Rila mountain in Bulgaria and flowing southeast tributary of the Thracian Sea. Entering Greece from Ormenio, a small part of it, and it is the natural border between Greece and Bulgaria. From New Vissa to its mouth, it is the border line between Greece and Turkey. Its total length is 530chlm., from which 230km. belong to Greek territory. It is one of the largest rivers of the Balkan peninsula. Its tributaries are Erythropotamos in Greece, Ardas in Greece and Bulgaria, Tountzas in Bulgaria and Turkey and Erginis in Turkey. The landscape of the river Evros from Dereio to the sea, presents a wide variety of habitats rich in flora and fauna. Notable are the forest Dadia - Lefkimi - Soufli, the canyons and forests in the areas Circe - Avantas - Aisymis, as well as the area of the river Ardas. In the area of the river, there are measured 36 protected or endangered species of mammals (including Vidra, jackal and wild cat), 10 species of birds (including the Black Stork, the Eagle and White-tailed) and 17 species of reptiles and amphibians.